ISLABONITA

Where does the NCL ferry drop you off in St. George?

Looking to see how close to Fort St. Catherine and Tobacco beach.

Read about a shuttle from town but not sure if it will be running in Sept.

How much would a taxi be?

Well that solves it! That's what I originally thought that we are cruising but the fact that the itinerary says 7am to 4pm for this scenic cruising made me think it was a stop.

Thank you all!

Well that makes a huge difference... I cannot tell where we dock for the scenic cruising.. maybe you can thank you

The town of Te Anau in Fiordland National Park is also your gateway to the South Island's other natural wonders including Lake Wakatipu, the resort of Queenstown and Mt. Cook National Park.

Princess cruise Feb 6 , 2018 Sydney to Auckland 12 days

Thank you Terry, the ship is in port from 7 am to 4pm so I do have time to go onshore and do a tour I guess.

And the cruise is next year Feb, 2018 .

Is this worth a look? https://www.greatsights.co.nz/new-zealand-tour-destinations/mount-cook-and-queenstown/queenstown-highlights-tour/

Although the thread is very informative as to what you would see on the 2 night stay what isn't addressed is what can you do if you do not go on this excursion?

Will be on the Princess in Feb, 2017 and had all my stops planned and booked excursions except this one. I overlooked it and thought we stayed on the ship ( scenic cruising).

Can one get off the ship if you don't do the 2 night excursion?

Port hours say 7am-4pm so I am thinking yes.??

Is this the webcam you looked at? http://www.portbermudawebcam.com/

Hey there... we're booked on the Sep 1, 2017 sailing on the Norwegian Dawn from Boston to Bermuda. We're California guys and we've never sailed from a Northeastern port. Looking forward to seeing some pink sand :-)

 

Cheers,

 

-jeff & mick

Hey Jeff , I see you made a new roll call and posted on an established one too. Hoping you can come back and introduce yourselves. thanks iliana

iliana

Just an FYI to all cc members sailing NCL. If you booked through one of the online travel providers, say one ending with "go", you will not receive an upgrade bid email from Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Some of these sites have "opted out" of the program and you will not be "allowed" to participate in the process. This is very frustrating since I have successfully participated when booking directly, but by using the online travel provider I am precluded from receiving or participating.

Beware when you book to ask your TA or the online provider whether they participate in this protocol.

Good Luck to all.

R and K

Mine with a royal name told me that I was not allowed either because my booking was under a group booking.. beats the heck out of me why that would preclude me from getting an offer.

OFF TOPIC - but you can also see full deck plans on the NCL webpage.

NCL webpage does not tell you which cabins to avoid and which floor due to venues, noise, crew cleaning etc..

Interesting website, but I was surprised they didn't show anything for the Getaway or Breakaway. They do list older NCL ship up to the Epic. Still an interesting site for reference.

Check Deck Plan Genius they have them there but not Escape

No, if your bid is accepted you get what they assign you, no recourse.

This is why it is not a good enough gamble for me, getting a room under or over a noisy venue or not midship.

I like to check this site for advice or which cabins to avoid. Cruise advice dot org

I was pondering this same trip but decided against it due to the stinger season and unpredictable weather of February and water conditions for snorkeling , they seem to be better for diving. Short on time also as I only planned 3.5 full days in Sydney.

Yes I booked directly from ncl. Some travel agents opt out so if you booked through one call and see if there opted in or not

 

 

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thanks I did call my TA and just upgraded from an inside to ocean view for $112 and was able to pick out my cabin.

To go to a balcony was going to cost $800 so hopefully I might have a chance to bid for it. Picking out my cabin is crucial though .

All of you getting this email did you book directly with NCL?

68 days to Bermuda on the Dawn out of Boston.. first time for us.

Thanks everyone you've all been very helpful.. I think I have my plans set now for Auckland! :-)

Perfect! I see too that one can walk to the Sky tower and the Martine museum.

 

 

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Meant to say Maritime museum..

CCC's , Where did you pick up the Sky/ Airbus? and did you buy the ticket online?

We were faced with similar issue when our cruise on Solstice docked in Auckland. We found that the Visitor Centre did not open until about 9am so stored our luggage at Britomart...see details from previous post. We then caught the Auckland Hop On Hop Off Bus which leaves close to Princes Wharf. This took about 1-1/2 hrs and was excellent. We didn't get off the bus but saw all the best tourist sites of Auckland. We then returned and collected our luggage and caught the AirBus out to the International Airport in plenty of time for our 2pm flight back to Sydney.

 

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Perfect! I see too that one can walk to the Sky tower and the Martine museum.

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Thanks so much.. these are good options!

I can't seem to find anyone posting that they took a 2 hour tour to see Auckland before heading to the airport. My flight is at 2:30pm

I would even book a private driver. ( luggage in tow)

Anyone have any ideas or personal experience.?

thanks.

Late April we did a pre-cruise day trip with a private company with some cruise critic friends as a group of approx 12 people in a Mercedes van to the Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves. We loved it, saw a lot (including the three sisters, and did the cable car and the train and boardwalk bushwalk) and had plenty of time to see what we set out to see, and still were able to drive and spend a good few hours at the Jenolan Caves as well. It was a full day but well worth it.

 

If you only have a day, Blue Mountains can be easily done.

Do you remember the name of the company?

I am flying from the east coast and probably spent way too many points for our trip down and back but here is what I was able to get for Jan/Feb 2018 flights.

 

 

From the east coast, ROC to PHL in Economy then to SFO in F class for AA 25k each ( 2 of us) overnight using Wyndham pts in SFO for 2 nights

 

 

SFO to HNL on Virgin America using 20k pp Alaska Air points plus a $30 pp upgrade to PE. Row 8, with a 2 nights stay in HNL using Hilton points

 

 

HNL- SYD ,Using 47k Ultimate Rewards and 39k Jet Blue points on Hawaiian air with upgrade of $130pp for extra comfort seats row 11

cruise starts in Sydney and ends in Auckland, NZ.

 

 

AKL to LAX mixed class Fiji air in bus to Nadi then coach to LAX using 55k Alaska air pp, overnight in LA. ( still looking to see if I can modify this flight)

 

 

LAX to SAN to CLT in F class AA 25k for 2 stops and Economy on last leg to ROC

Just added missing info..

I am flying from the east coast and probably spent way too many points for our trip down and back but here is what I was able to get.

From the east coast ROC to PHL to SFO in F class for 25k each ( 2 of us)

overnight using hotel pts in SFO for 2 nights

SFO to HNL on Virgin America using Alaska Air points plus a $30 pp upgrade to PE. 2 nights stay in HNL using points

HNL- SYD ,Using 47k Ultimate Rewards and 39k Jet Blue points on Hawaiian air with upgrade of $130pp

AKL to LAX mixed class bus to Nadi then coach to LAX using 55k Alaska air

overnight in LA. ( still looking to see if I can modify this)

LAX to SAN to CLT to F class AA 25k for 2 stops and Economy on last leg to ROC

Any updates yet? Looking to hear from people who are sailing this month.

Where did everyone go? I think this thread is on a sleeping mode when I'm not here [emoji51].

 

Anyway, I'm back from the cruise. It was an amazing cruise. However, while hiking in the jungle in the Amazon I got bite by the mosquito. A day later I had a high fever. Three days later my whole body covered with rash. After the blood test the CDC confirmed that I Zika. The fever last three days, the rash last three days. Zika is not contagious, because not too many people know about it, and because they didn't want any panic so they quarantined me for 10 days. Finally they let me out a day before we debarking.

 

I'm finally finished unpacking. I will try to post some dresses later.

 

M

 

 

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Welcome back, getting sick is not fun. Glad you are feeling better!